Whale Weekly

After a rough weekend, the Connecticut Whale return to the ice Wednesday night against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

The Whale was winless in three games over the weekend, losing to Providence, Syracuse and Springfield. Connecticut is 9-9-2-0, good for 20 points and third place in the Northeast Division.

Here's a preview of the upcoming week, courtesy of the team:

This week:The Whale play their first midweek home game of the season Wednesday night, as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers invade the XL Center for a 7:00 PM game. Then Connecticut travels to Manchester for its first meeting of the year with the Monarchs Saturday night (7:00), before returning home for a second consecutive Sunday to battle the Albany Devils. That game faces off at 3:00. Wednesday, December 5 vs. the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the XL Center, 7:00 p.m.· After losing the first two games of the season series with their in-state rivals, the Whale won the last meeting in come-from-behind fashion November 23 in Bridgeport, wiping out a 5-3 deficit with four third-period goals in a 7-5 triumph. The Sound Tigers won the only previous game between the two teams at the XL Center, 6-4, on opening night October 12.· Bridgeport (10-9-0-1, 21 pts.) is still in second place in the Northeast Division, one point ahead of the Whale, but has fallen seven points behind division-leading Springfield, after going 0-5-0-1 in its last six games.· The Sound Tigers’ Brock Nelson, who has 2-2-4 in the three games against the Whale this year, is fourth among AHL rookies in goals, and tied for fifth in points, with 9-7-16 in 20 games.· Radio – live with Bob Crawford and Mark Bailey on “Beethoven Radio” AM 1290, and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.Saturday, December 8 at the Manchester Monarchs (Verizon Wireless Arena), 7:00 p.m.· This is the first of six meetings on the year between the Whale and Monarchs. In a six-game series last season, the Whale went 5-0-0-1, winning all three of their trips to Manchester.· The Monarchs (10-8-2-1, 23 pts.) are one point off the lead in the Atlantic Division, despite going 1-2-1-0 in their last four games.· Forwards Dwight King (2-6-8 in 14 GP) and Jordan Nolan (1-2-3 in 7 GP) are currently skating with the Monarchs, after helping to lead the parent Los Angeles Kings to a Stanley Cup championship last season.· Radio – live with Bob Crawford on “The Rock” 106.9 WCCC-FM. All Whale Saturday night games this year will be beamed on The Rock 106.9 WCCC’s 50,000 watts of power. Also available on-line atwww.ctwhale.com.Sunday, December 9 vs. Albany Devils at the XL Center, 3:00 p.m.· At this game, and all Whale Sunday home games, fans can purchase “Click It or Ticket Sunday Family Value Packs”, which include a ticket, a hot dog or a slice of pizza and a soda, for just $18 each.· The Whale and Devils have already met twice this season in Albany, with the Whale winning both games, 5-2 on October 24 and 2-1 in a shootout November 2. This is the first of three visits by the Devils to the XL Center.· Albany is 5-8-0-5 for 15 points through its first 18 games, and is fifth in the Northeast Division, three points behind fourth-place Adirondack. The Devils finished last week with a 3-2 road win over the Phantoms Saturday.· Devil goaltender Jeff Frazee (3-3-2) has the sixth-best goals-against average in the AHL, at 2.22.· Radio – live with Bob Crawford and Mark Bailey on “Beethoven Radio” AM 1290, and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.Whale Community Appearances:The Whale’s “We Believe Tour” has the following appearances scheduled this week. For further information on these, or any other Whale community initiatives, contact Whale community relations manager Frank Berrian, at (860) 541-4728: · Thursday, December 6, 5:00 PM, Blue Back Square, West Hartford, CTPucky, the Whale’s lovable mascot, takes part in the West Hartford “Holiday Stroll”.· Saturday, December 8, 8:00 AM, McDonald’s, 2915 Main St., Glastonbury, CTPucky shares the day’s most important meal with Glastonbury schoolchildren at the Glastonbury Schools Breakfast.· Saturday, December 8, 11:00 AM, Buckland Hills Mall, Manchester, CTPucky will be meeting and greeting holiday shoppers at the Buckland Hills Mall, spending time both at the Parade of Novelties Sports store and the mall’s “Elf Academy” event for kids, which takes place from 11:00 AM-12 noon.